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Geoff S.
Idaho’s Treasure and Magic Valleys= Treasure Valley The Treasure Valley of southwestern Idaho (also known as the lower Snake River Valley) encompasses the lowland areas where the Malheur, Owyhee, Boise and Payette Rivers drain into the Snake River. The region generally is depicted to extend from Vale, Oregon in the west to Boise in the east as far north as Weiser, Oregon and south to Mountain Home. It is by far the most populated region of Idaho with its undoubted center being Boise, the state’s only city to contain over 100,000 people. Regardless of being the most urbanized region in Idaho the area is also well known for its agriculture. The valley contains large areas of fertile lands and a long growing season. However, because of its semi-arid climate crops in the region require extensive irrigation. Water for such needs is provided by mountain snow pack and a extensive network of reservoirs and irrigation canals. Mountains, which rise quickly to the east of Boise and inhabit most of the state, intercept additional moisture from eastward moving Pacific Storms. The result is an abundant snow pack that provides for most of Idaho’s water needs and turns what would other wise be a scrubland into a highly productive agricultural region. The Treasure Valley displays a diverse range of agricultural production; it is a major producer of cattle, sugar beets, seed crops and fruit orchards as well as potatoes. Potatoes which Idaho has been made famous for is concentrated more in eastern Idaho, where it provides 32.8 percent of its economy as compared to roughly 7 percent in the Treasure Valley. Beyond the city limits of Boise, croplands cover vast areas amongst the flat to slightly rolling hill landscape. Agriculture is a large part of the economy but the region also contains a number of food processing plants, which specialize in local crop processing, adding additional economic vitality to the region. Boise It would be nearly impossible to mention the Treasure Valley without including Boise, the capital of Idaho and the principal city of the state and valley. Its name comes from the French word ''bois, ''which means woods. Legend has that when French fur trappers crested the hills into the river valley they saw a patch of trees along the river and exclaimed ''Les Bois ''“the woods.” Perched upon the Boise River and with a population of 200,000 and metro population of 600,000, Boise has developed into a financial, commercial and cultural center. While it may not display an impressive downtown skyline (actually not really one at all) it has become attractive to residents because of its richness in amenities. A number of outdoor recreation opportunities are available within a close distance of the city, including skiing, hiking, camping, fishing, hunting, rafting, boating and more. The nearby mountains and rugged rivers promote an overall adventurous theme to the city as exemplified by proximity of Bogus Basin; the local and popular ski resort located within 16 miles of city limits. Boise also displays a pleasant climate with four distinct seasons. And while winters can be cold, moisture is limited so snowfall is low in the valleys, although quite abundant in the mountains. Summers offer wall-to-wall sunshine with daytime temperatures near 90 degrees Fahrenheit and overnight lows in the 50’s. The same temperature regimes that are good for growing potatoes are also quite pleasant for citizens. Boise’s economy displays an adequate amount of diversity for its size and location. Apart from a thriving agriculture industry within the region, the amenity rich city has attracted a number of high-tech adventures. Headquartered in Boise and its largest employers is Micron Technology which specializes in semi-conductors. There are also a number of High-tech call centers in the area that supply a large amount of jobs. Other companies with headquarters in the city include Simplot, a privately held food processing giant founded by J.R. Simplot in 1923, Boise Cascade LLC, a successful regional lumber company and Albertson LLC. Boise also serves a cultural center, attracting a diverse array of people in a state that is otherwise dominated by conservative rural folk. The city has become a center for performing arts, conventions, banquets, festivals and museums. And is also the location of Idaho’s largest university Boise State, which has received recent notoriety for the success of their football program. But also has in recent years put forth effort to depict themselves as an upcoming research university. Magic Valley Located Further up the Snake River, in South-Central Idaho is the Magic Valley. Home to a much smaller population and less diverse economy it is more or less a smaller version of the Treasure Valley. Its principal city of Twin Falls has a population of only 40,000 although services a larger, thriving agricultural area; the combined population of the whole valley is about 170,00. Much like Boise, Twin Falls economy includes a small amount of food processing and tech support, however, the dominant industry of the region is no doubt agriculture, especially dairy. Idaho is the second largest dairy producer of the 12 western states and fourth largest nationally. With 309 producers and 382,214 cows the Magic Valley is the largest dairy producing region within the state and contains the two most productive counties; Jerome and Gooding which had a combined dairy market value of 750 million dollars in 2007, a large share of the estimated 2 billion value for the whole state. Magic Valley dairy production is a huge economic benefactor to not just the region but also the whole state. The dairy industry of Idaho employs more than 22,000 individuals and is also linked with a number of other industry related jobs such as milk processing. The future economic success of the Magic Valley and Idaho will depend at least part on the continued success of its dairy industry. = Sources '''Boise, Idaho''', [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boise http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boise], Date Accessed: 6/2/10 '''City of Twin Falls''', [http://www.tfid.org/departments/economic-development http://www.tfid.org/departments/economic-development], Date Accessed: 6/2/10 '''J.R Simplot Company, http://www.simplot.com/home/index.htm''', Date Accessed: 6/2/10 '''Idaho Agriculture, USDA [http://imnh.isu.edu/digitalatlas/geog/agirrig/agirtext/agigmain.htm http://imnh.isu.edu/digitalatlas/geog/agirrig/agirtext/agigmain.htm]''', Date Accessed: 6/2/10 '''Idaho Center for Potato Research and Education, [http://www.cals.uidaho.edu/potato/ http://www.cals.uidaho.edu/potato/]''', Date Accessed: 6/2/10 '''Idaho Dairy Council''',[http://www.idahodairycouncil.org/aboutus.asp http://www.idahodairycouncil.org/aboutus.asp], Date Accessed: 6/2/10 '''Idaho Potato Commission''',[http://www.idahopotato.com/ http://www.idahopotato.com/], Date Accessed: 6/2/10 '''Magic Valley''', [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magic_Valley http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magic_Valley], Date Accessed: 6/2/10 '''Micron Technology''', http://www.micron.com/, Date Accessed: 6/2/10 '''The Census of Agricultur, Idaho, USDA''' http://www.agcensus.usda.gov/Publications/2007/Online_Highlights/County_Profiles/Idaho/index.asp, Date Accessed: 6/2/10